


The Best Around

by Spydurwebb



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Sarah Jane Adventures
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-17 18:00:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29596611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spydurwebb/pseuds/Spydurwebb
Summary: The Seventh Doctor does some thinking. Set around The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith
Relationships: The Doctor/Sarah Jane Smith
Kudos: 8





	The Best Around

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sleepismyfriend](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepismyfriend/gifts).



> For Sleepismyfriend on her birthday!

The Best Around

The Doctor leaned forward on the park bench, his fingers interlaced and resting on the handle of his question-mark umbrella. He stared at the pigeons, as if his intense gaze would allow him to read their thoughts. 

“C’mon Professsor, how long are you gonna stare at some stupid birds?” Ace sighed, and flopped back against the bench, arms crossed. They’d been sitting there for at least 30 minutes. Every time she started to say something or ask a question, the Doctor shushed her. Some days she might’ve appreciated the break, but today she was bored. 

The Doctor sat up straight and looked at his young companion. “Pigeons are very intelligent creatures, Ace. You can learn about the environment simply by observation. Population density, pollution levels. Even more if you truly study them.”

“We’re on Earth. This is Ealing. It’s 2009. We know all that without birds. This is about something else, innit?”

She didn’t notice that the Doctor’s attention had drifted from the birds. 

Across the park, three teenagers were chatting animatedly. One of the boys glanced over and saw Ace and smiled before turning back to his friends. To Ace they only looked a year or so younger than her. 

“How much longer are we gonna sit here?” she asked. 

“Until the timeline is clear,” the Doctor responded. 

Ace stood up. “Then I’m going to talk to those kids.” 

The Doctor reached out to stop her, but she was already on her way. He watched as she chatted with the kids he knew to be Luke Smith, Clyde Langer and Rani Chandra. He liked to think of them all as Sarah’s kids. 

Somewhere nearby, Sarah would be out on a “date” with Peter Dalton. He wanted to stop it, he wanted to warn her that it was an attack by the Trickster, but it was a fixed event. He hated fixed events. Especially where Sarah was concerned. 

With a sigh, he knew one of his future selves would ultimately be there to help her. Except he would rush off, as he had a habit of doing. He didn’t want to criticise himself, but Sarah deserved more. Sure, he was aiming to park the TARDIS a week into the future and in Sarah’s attic, but that wasn’t where the TARDIS put them. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, the TARDIS probably knew best. 

Fixed point or not, sitting on a park bench knowing what had to play out tugged at his hearts. He cared for all of his companions over the years, but a rare few got as close to his hearts as Sarah. 

From his first incarnation, he had an echo of how important she would be to him, thanks to their experience in the Death Zone. His first and second self could feel the affection emanating from his third self, and the guilt from his fifth. Now that he’d lived through the experiences, all he wanted to do was have her with him again. 

“Selfish old Time Lord,” he muttered to himself as he stood up. “Ace!” he called out to his young friend. “Time to go!”

Saying goodbye to Luke, Clyde and Rani, Ace jogged back over to the Doctor. “Where to next?”

“I’m not going to break the laws of time, but I think it’s time to bend them a little.”

With a quizzical expression, Ace looked at him. “Oh yeah? Why?”

The Doctor glanced back at Sarah’s kids. “I’m going to help Luke’s mum. In about two week’s time, anyway.” 

He started walking away, Ace following. “How do you know Luke, much less his mum?”

“She manages time very well. You’ll find she’s one of the best around.” 

Without another word, the Doctor made a bee-line for the TARDIS, intent on convincing her to land where he wanted this time.


End file.
